33rd Week in Ordinary Time
21st November 2023 (Tuesday) Readings and Reflection
Psalter: Week 1
Reading of the Day
First Reading: 2 Maccabees 6:18-31
In those days: Eleazar, one of the scribes in high position, a man now advanced in age and of noble presence, was being forced to open his mouth to eat swine’s flesh. But he, welcoming death with honour rather than life with pollution, went up to the rack of his own accord, spitting out the flesh, as men ought to go who have the courage to refuse things that it is not right to taste, even for the natural love of life. Those who were in charge of that unlawful sacrifice took the man aside, because of their long acquaintance with him, and privately urged him to bring meat of his own providing, proper for him to use, and pretend that he was eating the flesh of the sacrificial meal that had been commanded by the king, so that by doing this he might be saved from death and be treated kindly on account of his old friendship with them. But making a high resolve, worthy of his years and the dignity of his old age and the grey hairs that he had reached with distinction and his excellent life even from childhood, and moreover according to the holy God-given law he declared himself quickly, telling them to send him to the grave. “Such pretence is not worthy of our time of life”, he said, “lest many of the young should suppose that Eleazar in his ninetieth year has gone over to an alien religion, and through my pretence, for the sake of living a brief moment longer, they should be led astray because of me, while I defile and disgrace my old age. For even if for the present I should avoid the punishment of men, yet whether I live or die I shall not escape the hands of the Almighty. Therefore, by manfully giving up my life now, I will show myself worthy of my old age and leave to the young a noble example of how to die a good death willingly and nobly for the revered and holy laws.” When he had said this, he went at once to the rack. And those who a little before had acted towards him with good will now changed to ill will, because the words he had uttered were in their opinion sheer madness. When he was about to die under that blows, he groaned aloud and said: “It is clear to the Lord in his holy knowledge that, though I might have been saved from death, I am enduring terrible sufferings in my body under this beating, but in my soul I am glad to suffer these things because I fear him.” So in this way he died, leaving in his death an example of nobility and a memorial of courage, not only to the young but to the great body of his nation.
Psalm 3:2-3, 4-5, 6-7 (R. 6b)
R/. The Lord upholds me.
Alleluia
V/. Alleluia R/. Alleluia
V/. God loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.
R/. Alleluia
Gospel : Luke 19:1-10
At that time: Jesus entered Jericho and was passing through. And behold, there was a man named Zacchaeus. He was a chief tax collector and was rich. And he was seeking to see who Jesus was, but on account of the crowd he could not, because he was small in stature. So he ran on ahead and climbed up into a sycamore tree to see him, for he was about to pass that way. And when Jesus came to the place, he looked up and said to him, “Zacchaeus, hurry and come down, for I must stay at your house today.” So he hurried and came down and received him joyfully. And when they saw it, they all grumbled, “He has gone in to be the guest of a man who is a sinner.” And Zacchaeus stood and said to the Lord, “Behold, Lord, half of my goods I give to the poor. And if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I restore it fourfold.” And Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, since he also is a son of Abraham. For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.”
Daily Gospel Reflection
The Reflection by Fr. Thumma Mariadas Reddy MSFS{alertWarning}
Highlight: Faith is faithfulness!
Guidlines: Faith is not merely believing some doctrines and following certain laws and traditions. Faith is essentially a matter of faithfulness come what may{alertSuccess}
1. In today’s word of God, we have two great examples of faith. In the first reading from 2 Maccabees, we have the example of Eleazar, a renowned scribe. He was forced and allured to violate his God-given law by eating the forbidden meat. But no fear of death or no persuasion to pretend to eat in order to escape would swerve him from his conviction and perseverance.
2. He preferred to embrace death rather than save his life. He preferred to die a noble death rather than live a disgraceful life. He preferred death and then eternal life rather than a little extended life but then an eternal damnation. He stood steadfast in his fidelity to God. Thus, in his death, he set an example of nobility and courage.
3. In the gospel, in the person of Zacchaeus, we have another example of faith. Of course, this is a faith, different from Eleazar's. While Eleazar remained rooted and clung to his long-inherited faith, Zacchaeus received new faith. He made a total about-turn. He turned to Jesus with a passionate heart, and he tuned his whole life to the person and following of Jesus.
4. He truly made a journey of faith. This is seen in his transition from a deep desire to encounter Jesus to a total conversion and transformation of life. From the extortion of a tax collector, there is a big leap of distributing half of his property to the poor and fourfold repay to those defrauded. Thereby, he is counted as a son of Abraham from being labelled as an ostracized sinner. He is blessed with salvation, being liberated from the curse of sin.
5. The memorial of the Presentation of Mary of today is a timely reminder for us of this blessing and salvation. It is said that already at the age of three, the child Mary was offered to God in the temple. And from that moment till the end and now as well, the life of Mary is one unceasing act of blessing and salvation.
Practice: We are constantly reminded about how we should traverse the journey of faith. We need to constantly transit from imperfect faith to perfect faith. We must safeguard and preserve the gift and treasure of faith in faithfulness{alertSuccess}